Syria

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• (April 2005) Miracles do happen. Just a few years ago, it sounded like Lebanon would inevitably be annexed to Syria, sooner or later. It also sounded like Assad of Syria was the most intolerant and least cooperative of all Arab leaders.
  What difference a USA invasion of Iraq can make: Assad (in keeping with an interview in Time Magazine in which he declared "I am not Saddam Hussein, I want to cooperate") has pulled out all Syrian troops from Lebanon after 30 years of occupation.
  This is just the latest in a long series of good news from the Middle East (See Another democratic revolution), a region which, projecting this trend in the future, may well become the most peaceful in the world.
  What do the millions who marched against the "war" think now? Do the "pacifists" truly believe that this would have happened without the invasion of Iraq? How can so many million people in so many countries be so blind and deaf? TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved.
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• (August 2004) Syria tells Lebanon to change its constitution. Funny how one country's interference becomes another country's interference. Syria has been occupying Lebanon for decades. (Arabs routinely accuse Israel of occupying Palestinian land but rarely mention the equally disturbing fact that Syrian troops occupy Lebanon, yet another Arab double standard). Syria has also been dictating what the Lebanese government should or should not do (generally, in the interest of the Arab population). Syria has now decided that Emile Lahoud, the current Lebanese president, should remain in power, and has pressured the Lebanese parliament to change the constitution and allow a president to be reelected a second six-year term. Syria has made its move in a very quick and low-profile manner, in order to avoid scrutiny and protests. Protests are being voiced both inside and outside Lebanon, but Syria will probably get away with it.
  This is blatant Syria interference in Lebanese affairs. (Unfortunately, nothing new). The moment the USA complained about this violation of Lebanese sovereignity, the Syrians accused the USA of interference. This is the same story over and over again: if an Arab dictator does something, the whole world should shut up and accept it. If the USA dares criticize the Arab dictator, it is the USA that is interfering, not the Arab dictator that is oppressing millions of people.
  The Arab masses have to learn who their real oppressors are. TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved.
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• (April 2003) Next: Syria? The USA has 300,000 troops in Iraq. They are a few hours from the border with Syria. Syria is no less totalitarian and dangerous than Iraq. Assad's regime is one of the most destabilizing regimes in the Middle East.
  Remove Assad and liberate the Syrian people.
  It would be a tragic mistake if the USA did not finish the job. The USA made that mistake in 1945, and it cost 50 years of communist dictatorship to the poor people of Eastern Europe. The USA made the same mistake in 1991, and it cost 12 years of atrocities to the poor people of Iraq. If the USA removes Assad, suddenly the whole of the Middle East will be ruled by pro-American regimes, and it will be a lot easier to find something that they all share and welcome. It will be so much easier to talk sense into Sharon's stubborn, homicidal mind. It will be so much easier to spread democracy to countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait whose excuse has always been "hey, we're the least awful of these dictators".
  Remove Assad and liberate the Middle East. TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved.
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• (April 2002) Assad takes advantage of turmoil to jail dissindents. Syria continues to arrest and jail politicians who last year dared demand more democracy. They are tried and sentenced to five years of jail for "violating the Constitution". The latest victim is also one of the most prominent: Riad Seif. Bashar al-Assad is as implacable as his father was in maintaining one of the most ruthless dictatorships in the world.
  The whole world is reproaching Israel for daring to fight terrorists. Not a single statesman has protested against Assad's persecution of political dissidents. Not a single Westerner has marched in the streets to demonstrate solidarity to the victims of Assad's regime. Not a single Arab is protesting against Assad.

  (Note of May 2002: King Abdullah of Jordan may act as more liberal than Assad, but his tolerance of dissidents is equally limited. The one and only woman in the Jordanian parliament was convicted in May 2002 to 18 months of prison for speaking her mind against the government).

  TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved.
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• (June 2000) Syria gets rid of a brutal dictator... or a new one is born? Syrian president Assad finally died after 30 years of ruthless dictatorship, but Syrians may have to wait a long time until they can dispose of his awful legacy. In a well-orchestrated script reminiscent of Hollywood farces, Assad's 34-year old son Bashar, a British-educated ophtalmologist whose only political assignments have been to control Syria's unlawful occupation of Lebanon and to direct a recent purge over potential competitors) has been promoted commander in chief, elected leader of the Baath party (the only legal party in Syria), elected by Parliament as the sole candidate for president in the national election and now elected president of the country with 99% of the votes.
  A minor glitch came when somebody discovered that the Constitution forbids a 34-year old to be appointed president; so (just 15 minutes after Assad's death) Parliament lowered the minimum age to 34. What a coincidence.
  So far, Bashar has successfully imitated his father's style: the two most powerful people in Syria before Assad's death have gently disappeared (prime minister Mahmoud Zubi "untimely committed suicide" and general Hekmat Shehabi timely fled abroad).
  Assad killed more people in one week (pick your favorite of his many "purges") than Pinochet in his entire life. It is a dreadful sign of mankind's stupidity that Pinochet has been prosecuted but the world's dignitaries went to humiliate themselves in front of Assad's coffin and now will legitimize this pathetic farce by calling Bashar "president of Syria". TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved.
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